Athena Point? Micra? Subwoofer?

M

marktoo

Audiophyte
For my first home theater setup, I'm planning on buying a used Athena Point system. However, I live in a tiny apartment with neighbors on all 4 sides, so I'm debating whether I should get a subwoofer right now (or or go with the Micra system) or wait until I move into a bigger space. Would the lack of a subwoofer seriously detract from the home theater experience? Any suggestions? Thanks.
 
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mfabien

Senior Audioholic
If you plan to invite your 4 neighbors to see movies, and use it mainly on those occasions, then the addition of a good sub would be appreciated by all.

LFE from movies transmitted by a sub travel through the air and it also creates vibrations that can seriously impact your relationship with close neighbors. You must remember being stopped at a traffic light and hearing the beating of sub from a nearby car...the thing is that you hear the booming sound but not the music. That's what your neighbors will hear.

I live in a bungalow and I remember that a few years ago my next door neighbor's little boy was a mettalic music lover and was using a sub and I could feel the booming through the ground and the foundations separating the two houses (about 25' open space between houses). On one instance, and it was late at night, it was booming so much that I had to go over and ask them to stop.
 
Tempest

Tempest

Junior Audioholic
Placement and foundation

While I do live in an apartment with neighbors around me, the place does have concrete floors and walls. That being said, I still have placed my Velodyne DPS-10 away from the corner and on a slab of 16"x16" slate. I mostly did this to clean up the sound and am very pleased with the results (I get a cleaner sound out of my front speakers and sub by getting them off the carpet). I still get nice, rich sound from the low-end of my system without the 'boom' and don't have to worry about upsetting the neighbors.
 
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marktoo

Audiophyte
Thank you for the input. I think I'll just settle for 5 speakers only until I move someplace with thicker walls.
 
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